Reviews of music and some things that I like and don't like

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TURNING VIRTUE: A Temporary Human Experience

Turning Virtue is a four-piece progressive rock group from Buffalo, NY. The band is made up of David Karczewski (Guitars, Keyboards), DPA (Bass), Carl Cino (Guitars), and Mark Zonder (Drums). The band enlisted their all-time favorite drummer, Mark Zonder (ex Fates Warning, current Warlord) to give them the power they needed. After finishing the recording at MFB studio they brought on arguably the finest mixing engineer in the world in Tim Palmer (Porcupine Tree, Pearl Jam, U2, Robert Plant, and David Bowie). Finally the CD was mastered by another great – Andy VanDette (Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Rush, Dream Theater, Fates Warning).

Prog rock….a dirty word for those of us who grew up in the age of punk and new wave, but a style that I listened to before then, and yes…….listen to still to this day. The band plays in the style of Pink Floyd at times, like on the song “Dreamin’,” but they do it without all of the effects and keyboards, more rock than prog at times. The songs are catchy and flow over you in wave after wave. The band plays tight and with emotion, showing the listener that they have the ability to carry you away and bring you to a place where your head will float and then get you to bang it like a metal show, especially on “Theody.” The songs are not overdone, nor over long, they have managed to reel in that part of prog and keep things interesting and tidy. The drumming does stand out, but the whole band plays so well together that you would think that they were a complete band for a long time, not just having a special drummer on the album. Zonder fits in so well and sounds terrific on here. The playing is tight and really grabs you, something that a lot of prog bands forget to do…..write songs to catch the listener, not just meander all over the place. The guitar playing is great, with great riffs and solos throughout, especially on “What’s True.” The production is clear and lets you hear the band’s playing and lets the band’s sound fill your ears with the emotional playing and the heartfelt singing.

The band shows that prog needn’t be overbearing and pretentious, it can have textures and still be catchy. This will be a band to keep your eyes open for, your ears open and wallet open to buy their music and see them live.